Chapter 150: Old Fraud
"Hey, hey. You really think you can just stand there and sightsee while the world is moving?"
Niko ghosted into Karasu's blind spot like a silent shadow. While the Crow was still trying to map out a miracle to break the stalemate, Niko was already hounding his heels.
"Dammit..."
For the first time, Karasu realized how infuriating the kid with the straight-fringe could be. He had to redline his pace just to keep possession, eventually forced to dump the ball before he got swarmed.
"Too slow."
Niko timed his lunge perfectly. His studs clipped the ball, sending the pass off-course. It skittered toward the wing, turning into a fifty-fifty ball.
Zantetsu and Lorenzo ignited instantly, a tangle of limbs and jerseys as they sprinted toward the drop point.
'Crap...' Zantetsu thought.
He had the raw, explosive power, but Lorenzo was a different kind of monster. The gold-toothed freak was wearing a twisted, taunting grin. He didn't look like he was moving that fast, yet he was glued to Zantetsu's side like a restless spirit.
"Fast legs, zero brain cells. Easy money, OK?"
Lorenzo reached for the ball, confident he had the angle, but then his entire world tilted. He felt a massive weight slam into his center of gravity.
THUD.
The sound of bone hitting muscle echoed. Out of nowhere, Tokimitsu had crashed into the play. Even a pro like Lorenzo was sent stumbling, his balance momentarily shattered.
'Where did this tank come from?' Lorenzo wondered. He had spotted the muscle-bound boy earlier, but after seeing Kira absorb a hit from him, Lorenzo had naively assumed he could handle the impact too.
He was wrong. The kid was a human brick wall.
"Now, Zantetsu! Go!" Nanase screamed from the bench, his voice cracking with excitement.
"Good look, Tokimitsu!" Zantetsu shouted, finally getting a name right in the heat of the moment. He capitalized on Lorenzo's stumble, flicking the ball into the center for Charles.
Two Ubers defenders swarmed the prodigy immediately, but Charles didn't flinch. His eyes flashed with a cold, analytical light as he unleashed a long-range delivery toward the box.
Every P.X.G. attacker moved in unison. Rin and Shidou tore toward the drop point, but they weren't the targets. Charles was aiming for the biggest shark in the tank: Julian Loki.
Loki had started the play dozens of yards away, but in a second, he was exactly where he needed to be. It was world-class velocity—the kind of speed that made the air feel heavy. Loki wound up, eyes on the ball, ready to end the match.
Then Snuffy appeared.
"Speed like that is a crime. I almost couldn't keep up," the Master said, stepping perfectly into Loki's shooting lane and shutting down the angle.
"You're a real pain in the ass for a guy headed to a retirement home, Crown Messenger," Loki noted. He didn't look surprised; he knew he was facing a god of football.
Loki didn't skip a beat. The moment Snuffy closed the gap, Loki shifted his weight, executing a lightning-fast inside-cut.
Snuffy's eyes widened in genuine admiration. The kid was the real deal—not a single wasted movement.
But Snuffy wasn't a legend by accident. His movements looked slower, almost casual, yet he was always exactly where Loki wanted to go. For a few seconds, the pitch became a private stage for the two Masters. The rest of the players stood back, realizing that stepping into this duel was a suicide mission.
Loki clicked his tongue. He knew that wasting his three minutes in a stalemate with Snuffy was a tactical failure. He needed a result, not a highlight reel. With a sharp feint, he played the ball out to the side.
"Looks like the old dog still has some bite," Snuffy said, hands on his hips.
"Bite? You're in your prime, you old fraud," Loki muttered, clearly annoyed.
Charles, the one person who truly understood his Master's rhythm, reacted instantly. He snatched the loose ball and fired a first-time cross into the goal mouth.
"Go for it, Mr. Lashes!" Charles chirped.
The cross was a masterpiece. Rin had ghosted into a pocket of space while everyone else was mesmerized by the Master-duel. He was wide open.
'Dammit!' Aryu cursed himself. He had been so focused on Loki that he'd lost track of the most dangerous teenager on the pitch.
Rin took a cool, calculated breath. He began his shooting motion, his eyes already visualizing the net bulging.
Then, a blur of motion eclipsed his vision. A figure appeared from the void, faster and sharper than Rin could have imagined. The ball was sniped away and sent deep into the stands before Rin could even connect.
"Too green, Rin. You're kicking like a toddler."
Kira stood there, having made the last-second save. For some reason, the adrenaline hit his brain like a drug, and the trash-talk just spilled out.
"What...?" Rin stared at him, momentarily stunned by the sheer audacity. No one talked to him like that.
As the realization sank in, Rin's face twisted into a mask of pure, murderous rage. "I'm going to end you."
Kira felt a chill run down his spine. Yeah, he'd pushed his luck. Kira turned and jogged off.
His teammates swarmed him, cheering for the massive defensive stop. Snuffy watched Kira from a distance, a pensive look in his eyes. For a second, he saw the ghost of an old friend in the boy's movement.
"He reminds you of the past, doesn't he?" Loki asked, drifting closer.
"When you get to be my age, a little nostalgia is part of the job description," Snuffy admitted.
"I can't relate. My eyes are only on the future," Loki said, his voice brimming with the confidence of a king-in-waiting.
Snuffy felt a jolt of realization. Loki and Kira... they were the same age, yet Loki was already a world star. But looking at Kira, Snuffy knew it wouldn't be long before the kid's name was screaming from every headline on the planet.
***
In the stands, Nanase was paralyzed. Between the Loki-Snuffy duel and Kira's insane recovery, the game was moving at a speed that made his heart feel like it was going to burst. But beneath the excitement, a cold sense of dread was settling in.
He was a spectator. In a game this elite, he was just a fan with a front-row seat. He looked at Rin, who was currently vibrating with fury, and he started to wonder: what did he have to do to stop being a background character?
Across the field on the Ubers bench, Sendo was feeling the same burn. His team was winning, but it felt hollow. His rivals—Kira and Barou—were out there cementing their legacies while he sat on the pine.
'Is this it?' he wondered. 'Am I just going to be a benchwarmer while the world moves on?'
***
Match continued. P.X.G. throw-in.
Lorenzo was barking orders at the back. "Don't slack off now! We're on the clock, Ubers!"
P.X.G. fell back into their rhythm, automatically funneling the ball to Charles. The moment the kid touched the rock, the entire French team came alive. Even with the clashing styles of Rin and Shidou and the presence of Loki, Charles was the glue, holding the chaos together and driving the advance.
Ubers' ironclad defense was finally being pushed to the limit.
And in a corner where no one was looking, Shidou Ryusei's eyes began to shimmer with a dark, predatory light.
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